clark



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. CLARK. STEAM ENGINE.

No. 316.332. 7 Patented Apr: 21. 1.885

WITNESSES v v JJVVEJVTOR I f 04M r .dt t rnez N. PFIERS.Phulo-Lil-hugnphcn Wa hinghn. [LC- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J CLARK STEAMENGINE.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 21,1885.

m w E N H W Attorneys UNITED STATES JAMES CLARK, OF MEDINA, NEW YORK,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ABIEL BOWEN, OF SAME PLACE.

STEAM-ENGINE.

QPECIFICATION forming'part of Letters Patent No. 316,332, dated April21, 1885.

Application filed January 3, 13:5. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Medina, in the county of Orleans and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Steam-Engines, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

My invention relates to an improvement in steam-engines; and it consistsin the peculiar construction and combination of parts, that will be morefully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my-invention is to produce an 15 engine that admits thesteam at only one end of the cylinder, said cylinder being pivoted onthe steam-chest and oscillated when the engine is in motion, theconstruction of the engine being such that the pressure of the steambetween the piston and the cylinder-head and the gravity of the cylindermakes the pivotal joint of the cylinder with the steam-chestselfpacking.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of asteam-engine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional Viewof the same, taken on the line w x of Fig. 1.

The frame of the engine is composed of the base A and the standards B C.These standards project upwardly from the center of the base at itsends, and are provided with flanges D at their outer edges, whichflanges are the width of the base at their lower sides and inclineinwardly to the tops of the standards in the shape of an inverted A, asshown.

A flange, E, forms the inner sides of the standards and forms ahalf-circle, F, between the standards above the connecting-web G. Theupper ends of the standards are formed into the lower halves ofjournal-boxes for the shaftH. A heavy balance-wheel is keyed to theshaft between the standards, and to one of the projecting ends of theshaft is fixed a crank,

, I, having a wrist-pin, K. The steam-chest L is cylindrical in shape,and projects forwardly from the lower front side of the standard B in aline with the center of the base. The base,

' standards, and steam-chest are formed integrally, preferably ofcast-iron. The steamchest is divided centrally by a vertical partition,M, into a supply-chamber, N, and an exhaust-chamber, 0. Openings extendrearwardly from these chambers through the front flange of the standardB on opposite sides of the web G, and the supply and exhaust pipes 5 arethere connected. A port, 1?, leads upwardly from the supply-chamber, andasimilar port, Q, is located on the opposite side of the partition andconnects with the exhaustohamber. The cylinder R is pivoted on thesteam-chest by means of the cap S and bolts T. This cylinder has aclosed solid head at the end that is pivoted on the steam-chest, and itsopposite end is open, as at r. Vertical bars U, which are castintegrally with the cylinder, extend upwardly therefrom, and on theinner sides of these bars are formed ways a for the guide-boxes of thecross-head *to travel in. Centrally through the-closed head of thecylinder is made the opening or port 1", which extends to thesteam-chest. The piston V is placed in the cylinder, and is providedwith a suitable packing-gland in the usual manner. The piston-rod 12connects the piston with the wrist-pin K and the cross-head W, whichcross-head is provided with boxes 10, that guide the cross-head up anddown upon the ways it. A cap, 'w, and bolts to are provided for securingthe cross-head, wristpin,and piston-rod together,as shown at Fig. 2. 8c

The operation of my invention is as follows: Steam is admitted throughthe supply-chamber of the steam-chest and through the cylinder-port intothe lower end of the cylinder, where it acts upon the piston andforcesit upward, giving a partial rotation to the flywheel and causingthe cylinder to move a slight distance on its pivotal joint with thesteam-chest. By the time that the piston has reached the upward limit ofits strokethe cylo inder is in a vertical position, with its portdirectly over the partition between the exhaust and supply ports ofthesteam-chest and disconnected with both of them. Theinertia of thefly-wheel causes the movement of the 5 engine to proceed until thecylinder-port comes in line with the exhaust-port of the steamchest, andthe descending piston forces the steam beneath it through theexhaust-chamber of thesteam-chest. Continued rotation of I00 of thefly-wheel.

the fly-wheel brings the cylinder into its initial position, and theoperation is repeated, as before.

It will be understood that the pressure of the steam is onlyimparted tothe piston on its upstroke, the remainder of the operation of the enginebeing dependent upon the inertia In engines that are of small power andthat are used for running lightmachinery, only one cylinder will benecessary; but for heavier engines two or more cylinders should beemployed and connected to the shaft in such a manner that one of thecylinders will be taking steam while another exhausts, and thus acontinuous power will be exerted upon the shaft at all points of itsrevolution.

By pivoting the cylinder upon the steamchest the pressure of the steambetween the piston and the cylinder-head and the gravity of the cylindercause the cylinder to be forced tightly against the steam-chest, andthus forms a self-packing joint, which is so tight as to preclude thepossibility of leakage.

An engine constructed as hereinbefore described is simple and cheap, andis adapted for use for a'great variety of purposes. I have one of myengines now in operation, running at the rate of from fifty to fourhundred revolutions per minute, and doing as much work as larger enginesthat take steam at both ends of the cylinder.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 7 l. The combination of theframe having the cylindrical steam-chest with the shaft, the crank, thepiston and rod, and the cylinder having a closed end that is pivotedupon the steam-chest, said cylinder having a single central port in itsclosed end, and said steamchest being provided with an inlet and anexhaust port with which the cylinder-port registers alternately when theengine is in operation, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the frame having the cylindrical steam-chest with.the shaft, thecrank, the piston and rod and cross-head, and

the cylinder having a closed end that is piv-' oted upon the steam-chestand having guideways for the cross-head, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES CLARK. Witnesses:

MERRILL L. JENKINS, EDMUND FULLER.

